4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Energy Bites

These 4-ingredient no bake peanut butter energy bites are simple and made with wholesome ingredients that you probably have in your pantry. Plus, they taste like cookie dough! I’ve been dying to share this recipe for no-bake peanut butter energy bites with you because they’re healthy, easy, and delicious! They’re so simple that I have all of the ingredients in my dorm room already, and that’s saying something.

In case you need some more convincing…

-They taste like PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIE DOUGH. But they also happen to be healthy.

-You don’t have to use your oven or stove! Hallelujah because this college girl’s only kitchen access is the shared dorm kitchen.

-They’re perfect for popping right before a workout, sticking one or two in your lunchbox, or eating as a late-night snack.

-They stay good forever in the freezer and they taste awesome frozen.

-Did I mention these peanut butter energy bites only have 4 ingredients?

First, measure out oats, peanut butter, honey, and mini chocolate chips. I was feeling adventurous, so I added ground hemp seeds, too, like some kind of hippie health nut, but I couldn’t taste them. Promise. Other people tried these bites and had no idea that they had a secret ingredient, so unless they read this post, they’ll never know!

You could also add chia seeds, ground flax seeds, wheat bran, or your other strange health ingredient of choice. Stir it all up and marvel that it looks like cookie dough! At this point, some taste-testing is probably necessary for quality assurance purposes, of course.

If the dough is sticky, you can refrigerate it for a couple hours or even pop it into the freezer for 30 minutes.Shape the dough into 2 dozen or so balls, and then refrigerate for about an hour before enjoying. To store the energy bites, you can place them in a container or gallon-size bag and stash them in your fridge or freezer. I’ll be making these peanut butter energy bites again soon, and I’ll be doubling the recipe when I do!

If you try these peanut butter chocolate energy bites, feel free to let me know in a comment or take a picture and tag me @livbane on Instagram! I’d love to see!

Add peanut butter to medium microwave-safe mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, or until peanut butter is less solid.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl, and stir for 2-3 minutes minutes until fully combined. At this point, if the dough is very sticky, you can refrigerate it for a 1-2 hours or pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes to slightly firm up.

Using a cookie scoop or spoon, form the dough into about 24 tablespoon-sized balls. Place on wax or parchment sheet or dish and refrigerate for about an hour before enjoying.

To store, place energy bites in a Ziploc bag or storage container. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe Notes

Depending on the type of peanut butter you use and its thickness, you may need to add slightly more honey or peanut butter to help the energy bites come together.

Woooooo finally one of these that you don’t need a food processor for!!! And I have all these ingredients. Could it be any easier? haha. I always add millet to my baked goods like this…you should try it. They’re so crunchy I love ’em!Lauren @ ihadabiglunch recently posted…WIAW: day in the life

If you like the combo of raisins and peanut butter, you could absolutely substitute raisins for the chocolate chips! You could also just leave the chocolate chips out altogether and not replace them with anything. Hope you enjoy!

Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that they were crumbly! I haven’t tried using maple syrup, but it definitely could be that the recipe needs the thickness & stickiness of the honey to hold them together. If they’re still crumbly, you could also try adding a little more peanut butter, just for some more moisture. I’m so glad that they still taste great, Monica!

Those look really yummy for a snack/dessert! I like to have something on the way home from work before I run, and those look like they would be perfect.Rebecca @ MyEagerFeet recently posted…Myrtle Beach Marathon Race Rating

What great little energy boosters! I love the idea of making them into single serving “balls” smaller than a bar, but great for popping into your mouth, whenever the mood strikes.Laura @MotherWouldKnow recently posted…Retro Date-Nut Bread

I love little recipes like this! They are so easy, no mess and really fill you up for a snack, not to mention they are perfect for pre or post workout snacks!Hilary recently posted…Life Lessons Through Running

I definitely made these as soon as I seen the post haha! They are delicious, I didn’t have honey so I used pure maple syrup, they were a little sticky to put into balls, but I found rinsing my hands after 5-7 rolls made them not stick so much to my hands. They turned out amazing! I even doubled the recipe because I knew my hubby would love them as well, they’ll be especially great for quick morning snack on the go! Thanks for sharing!
Rachelle x

I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them and made a double batch to start! It’s good to know that the maple syrup worked well as a substitute for the honey. I think I need to make another batch soon 😀 Thanks for the feedback, Rachelle!

I’m wondering about the fat content. You didn’t include that in the nutrition info. Knowing that each gram of carbs and protein has 4 calories, I can deduce that 56 of the 100 calories are carbs and protein (11×4) + (3×4)=56. So the remaining 44 calories must be from fat. Since a gram of fat has 9 calories, I can use the equation 44/9=4.89 to determine there are about 5 grams of fat.
That about right?

Wow, these are so yummy! I made them with black currants instead of chocolate, because my son has issues with chocolate and refined sugar. (I also substituted sunflower seeds for the hemp, just because I prefer them!) I had to play a little with the peanut butter and honey amounts, due to the lack of American measuring cups, but they are a real treat! Thanks for sharing! 😀

Hey Stacy! While I haven’t tried it personally, I found a similar recipe that does use PB2: http://www.nothankstocake.com/2014/02/20/no-bake-energy-bites/.
You could do some experimenting and try subbing the PB2 into my recipe or make the other recipe and leave out the coconut if you’d prefer. Hope that helps!

The only substitution I made was crunchy peanut butter since that’s what the hubby prefers…the snacks were a hit and will make enough next time to freeze and have on hand. Thanks for the yummy recipe:)

I made these, adding a good helping of cinnamon. Cause my house believes most everything is better with cinnamon! And they ARE absolutely yummy! Gotta make another double batch soon. Thanks for the recipe!

Just made these with added protein powder, almond butter and ground flax seeds. Called them oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and my boys love them! Thx for the recipe! Doubt there will be any left by tomorrow.

Just wanted to check is it ok to have it everyday or is it ok to give to toddlers as I was reading that it’s not healthy to have uncooked or unsoaked oats as there are very dry and high in finer so can give stomach problems or severe constipation.

Like this idea. 2 questions B4 I make these: 1) If I only have unsalted PB, how much salt would I add, & 2) Can I sub an equal amount of cacao bits? Thanks so much for all your time & energy in making life more beautiful! You are a lifesaver for people with special dietary needs. I found you only a short time ago & I have made 6-7 of your recipes but have yet to comment, though I have shared everything with family & friends who have grown to love you too! When I can breathe again (I suppose after Christmas) I promise to critique every recipe that I have made because they are soooo good! Your granola bars will forever be a staple in our home.

I just made these as a snack so that I would not raid the vending machine at work. They are everything good that everyone has talked about. Will be making these on a regular. I also used agave instead of honey. They were a little crumbly but I kept forming them into a ball and they were find. I put them back in the freezer and they were perfect. ( I did use light agave and a little less than noted for honey).

Hi Sylvia! There are some types of natural peanut butter that don’t have to be refrigerated after being opened, so if you use one of those, you should be good to go! Any kind with added oil shouldn’t need to be refrigerated after opening. And either way, they should be fine outside of the fridge for a few days!

Hi, 2nd time I’ve made these in a week, ????.. Because they are so lush…passed the recipe on already..used chia seeds in mine.. Thank you so much for sharing this simple but oh so moorish recipe ????????????????????????????????⭐️⭐️????????

Loved this recipe!! Except my husband and I totally didn’t exercise self-control and kept snacking so I only got like 10 out of this recipe haha Also had some shredded coconut flakes on hand and threw them in. DELISH!

Hi Victoria! The honey helps bind the energy bites together, so I don’t think using just peanut butter with a little bit of honey in it would do quite the same thing. Feel free to play around with it, though, and hope you can get some honey soon to try these out!

I’ve never tried baking them but I wouldn’t recommend it since they don’t really need to be baked and don’t have any baking soda, baking powder, etc. You could press them down to flatten them into cookie shape if you’d like!

Thank you for a great simple recipe! 5 year old loves it! I just wanted to add my take on this recipe. The only changes I made was to put a lot less choc chips and also I chopped/ground the oats in my mini cuisinart. The texture is less raw-oaty that way. Now hopefully we can have some left over for the next couple of days….it will be tough!

I’m a peanut butter fanatic. These were so delicious and easy to make. Anyway, I didn’t have any regular oatmeal so I actually used the oatmeal you get out of the individual instant packages. I also added the flax seed. It made exactly 24. When I rolled them between my hands, I kept my hand moist with water so they didn’t stick as much.

I make Peanut Butter-Honey-Oat bars that are pretty much the same as the energy balls. I now press the mixture into the cups of mini muffin pans so they come out the same size, and are much easier to remove than is cutting the original square pan into bars. I do add chopped walnuts, and today am adding chopped macadamia nuts, chopped pecans and chopped almonds as well, just a couple Tablespoons of them all to the mixture before putting it into the muffin cups.

They’re only for me, so I can make them as decadent as I want, but still keep them healthy (or I can dip them in melted chocolate if I want something that’s “over the top” delicious!)

New mamma here!
These are SO delicious–and with the addition of flax seeds, sesame seeds, and/or fenugreek, these can easily transform to ultra-delicious and easy to make lactation bites. Thanks for posting!

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Welcome!

Hi there, I’m Liv! I started blogging during my first year of college at UNC-Chapel Hill to share recipes easy enough for a dorm kitchen. Thankfully, I’m no longer cooking in a dorm, but my goal is still to share simple, delicious recipes that don’t take too much of your time. Most often, you can find me running, eating ice cream, and making a mess in my kitchen. Read more…